THE YEAR’S BEST CAR STEREOS

Smaller and more plentiful speakers, better sound isolation, and reactive mood lighting are revolutionizing the car-audio game

2020 Kia Soul GT

Harman Kardon Sound System

This boxy, fun-and-gun crossover is a jolt to drive, but it really overdelivers in the entertainment department, thanks to an available 10-speaker, 640-watt system featuring a subwoofer solid enough to draw eyes at intersections. Bonus: After dark, you can select an array of mood-lighting scenarios to enhance your listening experience, including a few that make the speaker-surrounding LEDs pulse to the beat of the music. That may sound slightly corny, but in practice it’s pretty trippy and actually cool. FROM $20,290 kia.com

2020 Lincoln Aviator

Revel Ultima 3D Audio System

Most vehicles notify you that you left your lights on with a low-fi ding; this new, three-row SUV does it in dramatic fashion with the help of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which recorded six different alert chimes to ring out in a variety of scenarios. Laminated glass on the windshield and side panels and extensive underbody insulation serve to make the cabin library-quiet should you need some peace. But if you don’t, a 28-speaker sound system kicks out the jams with sparkling fidelity. FROM $51,100 lincoln.com

2020 Acura RDX

ELS Studio 3D Premier Audio System

Foo Fighters producer Elliot Scheiner turned this two-row crossover into a rolling listening room with an obsessively tuned sound system that features 16 speakers, including four tiny units embedded in the ceiling, one above each passenger’s head. Those top-firing speakers add a 3D height effect and eliminate sonic obstructions like headrests, so each rider gets front-row sound. Plus, they enable you to better direct which seats get the brunt of the system’s volume. $43,800 acura.com JESSE WILL